


In the Valley of the Dark Lords

by queenseamoose



Series: The Force Shall Free Me [1]
Category: Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic
Genre: Character building, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-21
Updated: 2016-11-21
Packaged: 2018-09-01 05:51:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8611174
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenseamoose/pseuds/queenseamoose
Summary: Alayne arrives on Korriban and experiences the power of the Dark Side





	

Alayne could feel the power the moment she set foot on Korriban. Before that, even—when she caught her first glimpse of the dusky orange planet from the shuttle’s narrow viewport, and when she stepped out onto the landing platform in a swirl of dust and heat. The very air was alive with it, ripples in the Force, echoes of generations upon generations of Sith who had lived and died here. It was intoxicating.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, as another acolyte roughly jostled against her, knocking her aside, and she drew in a sharp breath. Several paces ahead, the hooded figure paused, glancing back over its shoulder, and she caught a glimpse of the red skin of a Sith pureblood. She also caught a flash of an eye-roll, and she gritted her teeth together as she continued along the ramp to the academy, all the while quietly seething. That had been intentional.

Ahead of her on the platform, the other acolytes were gathering, but she hung back, tightly clinging to  the spark of rage as she fanned it into smoldering flames of silent fury. A minor slight, perhaps, but she’d always prided herself on never forgetting, and it was greatly satisfying to know that every injury was within grasp, ready to fuel her connection to the Force if needed. But as she watched the hooded figure pause briefly beside the distant silhouette of the overseer and continue on into the building ahead of the others, her control nearly slipped. Balling her hands into fists, she forced her rising hatred back down to a simmer. She’d have to watch herself here—the Dark Side was strong in this place, and a single instant of poor timing could destroy everything she’d fought for.

She barely heard the overseer’s sneering remarks on her late arrival—instead, she was focused on the wrinkle of his nose and the curl of his lip as he addressed them. _Refuse. Gutter trash. Slave._ Nothing she hadn’t been called before, but somehow it carried more weight here, a reminder that even now, she was not truly free. The other acolytes could feel it too, and she could practically smell their fear tainting the air around her. _A Sith fears no one,_ she sternly reminded herself, lifting her chin. Let them have their weakness—she would not succumb, and in the end she would be the only one left standing. But when the overseer called for her to stay behind, she realized that her momentary lapse in control on the landing platform had already cost her.

His threats took on a new meaning entirely when directed solely at her, a new malice glittering in his eyes that had not been there previously when he’d recited his speech to the group. And she quietly realized that she’d made an enormous mistake by drawing attention to herself. She knew how the Sith worked, how they wielded fear as a weapon. All it took was a single example for the masses to fall in line—and by singling herself out, albeit unintentionally, she’d assigned that role to herself.

And as much as she hated herself for it, she faltered. Just for a moment, as she passed through the dark corridors of the station alone, a nameless slave sent to the homeworld of the Sith as a sacrifice, intended only to feed the darkness in others—like her hooded nemesis.

But then she stepped out onto Korriban itself, beneath the watchful gaze of the statues’ unseeing eyes, and instantly realized how wrong she’d been. As she drew upon the Force, readying herself for what was to come, she was reminded of how different it felt here—more powerful, almost dizzying. The wind picked up, and as it howled through the valley, it stirred the dust and sand—and her memories. From the overseer’s taunts just moments ago, to a distant image of the fleet of conquering ships in the sky above the day her homeworld had been taken by the Sith. A lifetime of wrath, just waiting to be unleashed—and now… Now, she closed her eyes,  feeling the Force around her. Now it was time.

There was no sign of the other acolytes, only the occasional k’lor’slug in the distance. One of them noticed her, and its legs twitched, maw opening as it came rushing toward her. The training blade in her hand was a weak, clunky weapon, but as she lifted it, she felt the Force surge through her.

It was dead within moments of lunging for her, the overseer’s face flashing before her vision, and the other on its heels quickly followed, along with the hooded acolyte’s. A quick fight, she noted, reflecting on various sparring matches she’d partaken in over the years, and she allowed herself a brief moment of satisfaction. She would not be a willing sacrifice. She was made for greater things. The Force told her as much, the air humming with whispers of a promise.

No matter what the Sith had taken from her, she was one of them now, for whatever that was worth. And no matter what they set before her, she would turn it against them. Until she was free. Until they trembled at her feet. _I will fulfill my destiny_. It was a vow, solemnly made to the unrelenting desert. And the desert seemed to accept it, the echoes in the Force settling into a quiet thrum of power that followed her into the depths of the tomb.


End file.
